Louis keller



(No Model.)

L. KELLER.

CLEANING ROD FOR GUNS.

WITNESSES:

Patented Jan. 21, 1896.

LOUIS KELLER, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

CLEANING-ROD FOR GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,472, dated January 21, 1896'.

Application filed January 5, 1893.

T0 at wh m it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS KELLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oleaning-Rods, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, while relating to cleaningrods for tubular articles generally, has reference more particularly to that class of such devices which is employed in the cleaning of gun, rifle and other analogous barrels; and has for its object the production of a cleaningrod of this class which shall be stiffer and stronger than those heretofore in use, and which shall in use expose no metal surface to contact with the interior of the barrel or other article.

To these ends the invention consists, first, in the combination, with the interior cores of the sections of a cleaning-rod and the coupling devices by means of which such sections are coupled together, of a covering for said cores arranged to project over the coupling devices and prevent them from coming in contact with the interior of the barrel or other article in which the rod may be used while being secured to said cores, and, second, in the combination, with the sections of a clean ing-rod composed of wooden cores and a covering of paper or other analogous substance applied thereto, of coupling devices for coupling the sections together, arranged within the covering so as to be wholly covered thereby, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain forms of my invention, Figure 1 is a side view of a cleaning-rod constructed in accordance with my invention, the head or handle being shown in section and parts of the constituent sections being broken out for convenience of illustration; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal section thereof, showing one form of coupling devices for uniting the sections and a head or handle of a slightly-modified construction, the core being illustrated in elevation; Fig. 3, a transverse section of the cleaning-rod taken in the plane m o: of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a central longitudinal section of a cleaning-rod of a slightlymodified construction; Fig. 5, a transverse Serial No. 457,426. (No model.)

section of said rod taken in the plane y g of Fig. at; and Fig. 6, a longitudinal section of a portion of the rod,showin g a slightly-modified form of wire out of which the coil forming the coupling device is formed.

In all the drawings like letters of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the head or handle of the clean ing-rod; B, the cores of the several sections composing the rod; C, the covering by means of which such core is enveloped, and D the coupling by means of which the several sec- 6 5 tions may be joined together, when desired, for use.

In the examples of the invention shown in the drawings the rod is composed of two sections E E united together; but it is to be understood that a greater number of sections may be employed, as the exigencies of the case or the judgment of the constructor may dictate.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the cores B of the sec- 7 5 tions are shown as made up from a solid compact material, which are united end to end by means of a male screw a on the end of one section entering a female screw a secured in the end of the other, while over such core and over the screws a a, which together form thecoupling D, is arranged the covering 0.

The materials out of which the cores shown in these figures may be made are of various kinds-as, for instance, wood, rubber, celluloid, metal-tubing, or whalebone. I prefer, however, to make use of wood in their construction, and to employ for that purpose what is known in the art as birch doweling, or rods formed of the proper size and shape from birch and furnished to the trade to be cut up and used in the making'of dowels. The cores made from this material are cut into the required length, and are each provided at one of its ends with atennon I), 5 which enters a socket formed in the end of the screw to for securing the screw thereto, while abutting against its other end is the female screws a. As thus constructed and arranged the entire core B, with the female screw a and the body or shank of the male screw (1, are surrounded by the covering 0. This covering may be made of various materials-such, for instance, as cloth, paper,

papier-mache', or veneers. I prefer, however, to make use of paper for this. purpose, as a more desirable article is produced thereby. In the application of this paper I find it advantageous to cut it into strips of a Width slightly greater than the length of the section to which it is to be applied, and to wind it thereon until the section is built up to the required diameter, the several convolutions of paper as thus formed being either cemented together and to the core, or left free from one another and cemented only to the core, as may be desired. hen the sections are thus formed their abutting ends are trued up so as to'leave the ends of the covering flush with or projecting slightly beyond the end of the female screw a and the body or shank of the male screw o whereby, when the sections are united, the adjacent ends of the covering of the sections united will abut and completely cover the metal composing the coupling.

In some cases I find it advantageous to form the head or handle A of the rod from the material composing the covering O-as shown, for instance, in Fig. 1-where the head is formed by winding and cementing the paper thereon until the required diameter is reached, and shaping it either at the time of winding or afterward into the contour desired. other cases I find it desirable to make the head or handle A as a separate piece and to secure it either fixedly or detachably to the end of the rod, as shown in Fig. 2. When this form of construction is adopted, either wood, rubber, celluloid, paper or other analogous material may be employed in the manufacture of the head or handle; and a convenient way of securing it to the end of the rod is by providing such head or handle with a socket, extending axially of the same, of a size to fit the end of the rod, and by affixing such head or handle thereto by pins or cement. Either of the constructions shown in Fig. 1 or in Fig. 2 may be employed as maybe desired, and the only advantage arising from the use of the one in lieu of the other is that in the one case any kind of material may be used for the head or handle, while in the other the material out of which it is formed must be of the same character as that composing the covering of the rod. Again, instead of using a solid and compact core, as shown in Figs. 1,- 2 and 3, I may employ a tubular core B formed from coiled wire, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. hen this form of construction is adopted, the diameter of the coils at one end of the rod may be enlarged to aid in forming a head or handle, and the several coils may be either soldered together, the wire tempered, or both, whereby to stiffen the core when desired. As thus constructed the several sections of the core are enveloped in a covering of paper or other material as in the constructions above described.

For coupling the several sections together, when the core is formed from coils of wire,

the coupling devices shown in Fig. 2 or any other of the well-known forms may be employed. I prefer, however, to make use of the form shown in Fig. 4, in which a short coil of Wire cl of an external diameter slightly greater than the interior diameter of the core B is secured at one of its ends in the interior of the end of the core in one section, and engages with its other, as a screw, the interior of the end of the core of the adjacent section.

In the formation of this coil ordinary round wire, as shown in Fig. 4,will in most instances be found sufficient. When, however, a firmer coupling is required, the form of wire shown in Fig. 6 may be employed, in which a substantially rectangular body in cross-section is provided on its outer side with a rib, eX- tending longitudinally of the same, of the proper shape to fit between the adjacent wires of the core in the interior thereof ;-but it is obvious that any other form of wire suitable therefor may be employed in lieu thereof, as may be desired.

The cement which I have found the best suited for uniting the several convolutions of paper, when it is found desirable to unitethem, is one composed of flour and water; but any other of the well-known forms of cem ents suitable for the purpose, it'is manifest, may be used in place thereof.

The rod having been completed, may, if desired, be painted or covered with varnish or with any of the waterproofing compounds now in use, whereby to render it smooth and impervious to moisture.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I produce a cleaning-rod which is not only cheap in construction and efficient in operation, but one which obviates the objections accompanying the constructions heretofore in use.

Although in the above Ihave described the best means contemplated by me for carrying IIO my invention into practice, I wish it distinctly understood that I do not limit myself strictly thereto, as it is obvious that I may modify the same in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention-as, for instance, instead of continuing the core throughout the entire length of the section, I may, if I so desire, employ it only at the ends thereof, leaving the middle portions of the same either without such support, or filled with any suitable filling material that will prevent it from being crushed at these points. The same is also true respecting the wire core shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, which may likewise be left hollow or filled with any appropriate filling material.

In an application for Letters Patent filed coincidentally herewith, and serially numbered 457,425, I have shown and claimed amethod of stiffening and strengthening rods and poles by the application of a covering material thereto,

. either in the form of independent cylinders,

arranged the one within the other, or by successive convolutions of such material wound thereon, the cylinders in the one case and the convolutions in the other being either cemented together or left free from one another and cemented to the rod, whereby to make a solid and compact envelope therefor. In the present application I make no claim thereto; but,

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with the interior cores of the sections of the cleaning rod, and the coupling devices by means of which they are coupled together, of a covering extending over both the cores and coupling devices and fixedly secured thereto, whereby to both stiffen the rod and prevent any metal surface thereon, when in use, coming in contact with the interior of the barrel or other article, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the sections of a cleaning rod composed of wooden cores, and a covering of paper cemented thereto, of coupling devices arranged Within the covering to be wholly covered thereby for coupling the sections together, substantially as described.

LOUIS KELLER. Witnesses JOSEPH J. SULLIVAN, E. G. THOMPSON. 

